One more death in flooded Chamoli tunnel, 8 casualties so far; search on for two stuck
The incident occurred at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation's (THDC) Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Mayapur (Pipalkoti), when landslides and subsidence caused debris and water to fill half of the tunnel
Rescuers discovered a deceased worker inside an inundated tunnel in Chamoli on Saturday, August 15, 2026, raising the death toll to eight, with two workers still trapped. Twenty-two individuals were stranded in the three-kilometre tunnel when water surged in around 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, according to District Disaster Management Officer N.K.
Joshi. The disaster occurred at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation's Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Mayapur (Pipalkoti), following landslides and subsidence that filled half of the tunnel with debris and water. Seven workers perished on Thursday and Friday, with one additional body recovered on Saturday. Rescue teams are utilizing suction pumps to remove water from the tunnel and are urgently attempting to reach the two remaining trapped workers.
Chamoli ADM Vivek Prakash confirmed the latest recovery on Saturday. The deceased were identified as Pradeep Singh Pawar from Tehri, Mukesh from Chamoli, Durlabh Sharma from Bihar, Vijay Hansda and Jitendra Kumar from Jharkhand, and Lokeshwar and Bhuneshwar from Chhattisgarh. The three missing workers from earlier were Lucas Topno from Jharkhand, Chetan Poyam from Chhattisgarh, and Devnath from Chhattisgarh. The identity of the most recent fatality has not yet been determined.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
